Our Fitness Blog

5 Holiday Food Traps to Avoid

For most of us the upcoming holidays mean food, food and more food. So, how do we combat this extra intake of food? The main problem is it's the holidays, and we want to indulge and have fun with our friends and family. The average American can consume somewhere between 3000 and 5000 calories on Thanksgiving alone, and to gain one pound, we only have to consume 3500 calories. This means that throughout the holiday season, it is fairly easy to see how these extra pounds can add up. Here we will take a look of some of our favorite holiday foods and different ways to fight the temptation of over indulging in them.

Cheese trays. I love going to parties that feature cheese trays. There are so many different types of cheeses neatly displayed for me to sample, and it seems that each and everyone I taste is more delicious than the last. It is just so hard for me to avoid the pull of this magical tray, but I should definitely try harder. You can typically find a hundred calories in an ounce of cheese, but what makes it worse is that cheese is also high in fat. And, like I said before, once you start sampling the cheese tray, it will seem impossible to stop. So, before you know it, you could have crammed hundreds and hundreds of excess calories down your throat. Your best option would be to skip over the cheese tray and head for the veggie tray, but you might want to make sure the veggie dip is low in fat and calories before drizzling it all over your plate.

Spinach artichoke dip. My sister makes the best spinach artichoke dip, and believe me, we make sure she brings it to all of our parties and get togethers. However, the name can be misleading. For instance, just because spinach artichoke dip has two vegetables in its name, does not mean it is healthy for you. In fact, a two and a half ounce serving of this delicious dip contains around 695 calories, and once again, this dish contains many of those fatty, high calorie cheeses we discussed before. Your best option would be to resist the pull of this temptation and maybe head to the fruit tray instead. However, you need to also resist the pull of all those tasty fruit dips and chocolate dips we love to slather on our fruit.

Eggnog. I love when Christmas season comes along because eggnog magically reappears on the grocery shelves. I just can't get over the silky taste, but this calorie laden drink can really do some harm to your weight loss journey. One cup of eggnog contains 343 calories, and if you are like me, one little cup is not enough. Also, many people like to add in a little something extra. One ounce of rum or brandy could add an extra 65 calories to your eggnog making the grand total 408 calories in that one little cup of eggnog. The best option would be to opt for a calorie free drink to fast track your weight loss goals.

Cheesecake. You can not say the name cheesecake without drooling. I mean, what is more wonderful than staying in on a cold winter's day sipping coffee and eating a slice of cheesecake. However, when you consider that one slice of plain cheesecake contains over 400 calories, we might want to rethink this perfect winter scenario. Also, who can have plain cheesecake? We want our cheesecake to be covered in chocolate, whipped cream, strawberries or cherries, and this can, of course, increase the amount of calories we are consuming. It may be hard to put down our slice of cheesecake, but it may be better for us to choose the other Christmas cake staple. A slice of fruitcake will be easier to burn off at only 139 calories per slice. Even though, we all know, it is not the same.

Sugar cookies. We all have to make cookies for Santa, right? And, what can we do if we accidentally make too many? I guess we'll just have to eat them. Sugar cookies are perfect for the holidays because they are so easy to decorate. We can add icing and different candy toppings to make them look like all different types of holiday decorations. They just look so festive, and it does not hurt that they taste so good. However, you may want to put down that sugar cookie if you are trying to lose weight. One sugar cookie contains 113 calories, 9 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fat, and we all know you can not eat just one sugar cookie. And, to add fire to the flame, most of these cookies are not plain. As mentioned before, our little decorations on these cookies can add to all the totals mentioned. So, maybe again you would like to stick with that one slice of fruitcake that only has 139 calories.

It can be so hard sticking with our diet, especially during the holiday season. The best thing to remember is moderation. It may be fine to cheat on your diet every now and then, but the holiday season is the perfect opportunity to see all of our hard work go down the drain, so you need to be stay diligent and pay extra attention to what you are eating.